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DAVID BIANCULLI

Founder / Editor

Bianculli's Blog

ERIC GOULD

Associate Editor

The Cold Light Reader

LINDA DONOVAN

Assistant Editor

Dateline Donovan
Contributors

DAVID HINCKLEY

All Along the Watchtower

ED BARK

Uncle Barky's Bytes

ALEX STRACHAN

TV That Matters

MIKE HUGHES

Open Mike

ED MARTIN

Ed Martin's TV Mix

KIM AKASS

Aerial View

MONIQUE NAZARETH

MNtv

BILL BRIOUX

TV Feeds My Family

ROGER CATLIN

TV Eye

GARY EDGERTON

Must-Click TV

TOM BRINKMOELLER

Raised On MTM

GERALD JORDAN

Crossing Jordan

NOEL HOLSTON

The Grassy Noel

TVWW ARCHIVE

Contributors Archive
 
 
2013
Jun
28
CULT By David Bianculli
 
 
SERIES RETURN: Two new episodes of this quickly canceled CW series return to burn off a few prime-time summer hours. In one of them, Skye (Jessica Lucas) infiltrates a secret meeting of the True Believers, led by cult leader Billy (Robert Knepper). Of course, if there were more True Believers, or better scripts, maybe this series would have kept going last season, instead of being exhumed for summer’s Write-Off Theatre. Now, as is, it’s merely a summer curiosity on a very slow Friday
 
 
 
  
 
 
2013
Jun
28
THE CAMPAIGN By David Bianculli
 
 
Will Ferrell and Zach Galifianakis star, and square off, in this 2012 comedy about an Everyman who’s selected to oppose a buffoon of a congressman in an upcoming local election. In theaters, The Campaign sank quickly – but on TV, on a slow weekend, it’s a pleasant enough diversion.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2013
Jun
28
ANNIE: IT’S THE HARD KNOCK LIFE, SCRIPT TO STAGE By David Bianculli
 
 
This PBS special takes an ultra-focused look at the current Broadway revival of the musical Annie, honing in on the casting, planning, choreography, rehearsal and opening-night performance of one musical number: the orphan’s group protest song, “It’s the Hard-Knock Life.” You could just as easily, and just as entertainingly, have made a documentary about the training of the dog playing Sandy (no kidding). But what’s here, to those who love theater, is very entertain
 
 
 
  
 
 
2013
Jun
28
REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER By David Bianculli
 
 
Tonight’s guests include someone who used to be seen every weekend on HBO: actor (and now director and producer) Adrian Grenier, formerly the star of the network’s Entourage.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2013
Jun
28
MARON By David Bianculli
 
 
SEASON FINALE: Marc Maron finishes up his freshman season on IFC with a doubleheader, a two-part season finale that has him, among other things, bidding goodbye to his new girlfriend Jen, and squabbling with his assistant Kyle, who also leaves Maron – to get a new job as a street-sign holder.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2013
Jun
27
A BRIDGE TOO FAR By David Bianculli
 
 
Plenty of movies about WWII focused on a pivotal, successful mission. This 1977 film, based on the Cornelius Ryan bestseller, is about a military operation that went less smoothly. But it’s given the same epic treatment, with a cast to match. Stars include Sean Connery (pictured), Michael Caine, James Caan, Dirk Bogarde, Anthony Hopkins, Laurence Olivier, and Gene Hackman.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2013
Jun
27
BURN NOTICE By David Bianculli
 
 
The final season of Burn Notice already is heating up – at least in finally getting the gang back together to work on a mission. It involves teamwork and trust, so things might get tricky considering recent events. But when the plan targets a Russian bureaucrat, and calls for Fiona to blackmail him, there’s no reason not to watch. And to expect positive results.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2013
Jun
27
THE GRAHAM NORTON SHOW By David Bianculli
 
 
Tonight’s show truly is an all-star edition. It features Steve Carell, Kristen Wiig, Chris O’Dowd from HBO’s Family Tree, and singer Josh Groban. Carell, Wiig and O’Dowd, all trading banter with the quick-witted, freewheeling Norton? Should be a riot.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2013
Jun
27
WILFRED By David Bianculli
 
 
Among the vignettes in tonight’s Wilfred is a sequence in which Wilfred is taken to a dog obedience school – where the lady in charge is played by Gina Gershon. And Wilfred, instead of seeing this as a punishment, sees only opportunity.
 
 
 
  
 
 
2013
Jun
27
TEAM AMERICA: WORLD POLICE By David Bianculli
 
 
This 2004 movie by South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone is, without doubt, the best marionette movie musical ever made. It’s truly hilarious, and audacious – and, in both respects, hints at the elements the pair would bring when collaborating with Robert Lopez on Broadway’s brilliant The Book of Mormon.
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 
 
New From TVWW

PBS' 'Frontline’ Examines Pension Promises and — Spoiler Alert — Finds the Math Doesn’t Add Up
By Alex Strachan
 
 
 
 
The Decadence of ‘Versailles’ Comes to Ovation
By David Hinckley
 
 
 
 
Prescribing Mamie Gummer in 'Emily Owens, M.D.'
By Ed Bark
 
 
 
 
Looking for a Free Ride? HBO Can Deliver
By Christy Slewinski
 
 
 
 
'Pass the Biscuits' Part of the Hatfield-McCoy Pop-Culture Legacy
By Noel Holston
 
 
 
 

Dispatches From TVWW

'Extinction: The Facts' is a Sobering Call to Action
By David Hinckley
 
 
 
 
How 'Mayans' Has Been Influenced by the Show's Creator Elgin James
By Mike Hughes
 
 
 
 
For Whom the Bell Tolls: Ken Burns and Lynn Novick Take on Ernest Hemingway, the Man and the Myth
By Alex Strachan
 
 
 
 
In the Final Season, Sutton Foster's Liza is Now the Genuine Version of Her 'Younger' Self
By Monique Nazareth
 
 
 
 
Season 2 of 'City on a Hill' Returns with Kevin Bacon, Aldis Hodge, and Boston Corruption
By David Hinckley